Freeware anti-virus protection

[Land Locked]

Isn't it strange how the simpler "home" versions out perform the bloatware paid corporate versions?

OK, I'm out of this discussion, it is hitting too close to my work environment!

 

[Spratman]

Another vote for AVG. I've been using it for years, never had a virus. I've probably been using Zone Alarm just as long (free edition). I bought Norton but it just to be a hassle because it interfered with other programs. Save your bucks, some freeware is better than payware.

 

[randini]

I used AVG for a few years & overall, I was happy with it. But still I ended up switching to antivir xp, which also worked out well for me for a few years. Over the last 8 months or so I've been running without any antivirus and not had any problems.

This weekend I got some sketchy file from somebody I know and wanted to scan it before opening it. I installed Avast & have not been overly impressed with it. It's one of the only antivirus programs I've found that supports my email client (TheBat), but it seems to take up a lot of resources & my system feels noticably more sluggish with it running - programs take longer to open, webpages take longer to load, etc. I do like that I can turn it off with a few clicks and it stays turned off until I turn it back on again (it helped speed things back up). Antivir was easier to trun off, but always turned itself back on after rebooting.

I'm going to give it another couple of days & if I don't get sed to it, then I'll remove it & try the newer version of AVG.

 

[Web Monkey]

Ubuntu.

But seriously, Antivir is good, and I like how little resources it uses, but I've been hearing lately that Avira is much better at catching things and gives up less false positives.

I agree with land locked, make sure to get a good antispyware & a firewall as well.

That's actually a really good idea. If you don't need any special hardware support like for an odd IR dongle, a nice user-friendly Linux distribution would be the way to go. Before anybody jumps up to tell me I'm wrong, I don't consider anything that requires magic incantations or modprobe to be user-friendly.

Practically speaking, it's virus-proof (well, it is possible to infect, but extremely unlikely), and if you do manage to get an infection, a re-install takes about 1/2 hour.

It's free, very stable and runs faster than any current Windows release.

Terry


Terry

 

[dk2943]

AVG at Grisoft.com

 

[pwr2al4]

Thanks a ton Chris. Got her done with the Antivir suggestion.
Spencer

+1
great site thanks a lot

 

[wand94nard]

I have been using Cyberdefender for a long time and it's really great! We recommend it to all of our friends. I feel safe knowing I have it on my computer.

 

[peterbj7]

so whats in it for these companies to produce "free" software and keep virus definitions up to date? There has to be a catch

The catch is that they don't. They may well maintain their own database up-to-date (which means up to the minute or even second), but I haven't heard of a free one that updates your system in real time. You have to log on and select "update". I used free ones for several years, mostly AVG for the anti-virus, but then I switched to a paid one that updates my computer in real time without my even knowing about it. The one I use is Bullguard - at around $30/year I don't think it'll break the bank.

Another point about free versions. They rarely have the scope of good paid software. My Bullguard checks for malware of all sorts, not just viruses. You check in the small print what AVG does.

 

[RAWalker]

Avast home updates automatically in real time.

 

[Freakin]

Avast home updates automatically in real time.

Does Avast still spam your computer with ads whenever it updates?

I use AVG for virus
Comodo for firewall
MBAM for general spyware scans (for now)